Jaquana
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly African American.
Name Census estimates that about 383 living Americans carry the first name Jaquana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jaquana today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaquana births was 1995 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaquana. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
383
~ 1 in 894,920 Americans
Peak year
1995
30 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2005 SSA rank
#17,577
Tracked since 1978
Census
Jaquana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 306 people with the first name Jaquana, which placed it at #29,088 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#29,088
National first-name rank
People counted
306
306 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jaquana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaquana is Black at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and White (1.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jaquana described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jaquana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.1% · 291
- Two or more races3.3% · 10
- White1.0% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 2
Popularity
Jaquana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaquana from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 219 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jaquana by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jaquana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jaquanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, North Carolina, Alabama recorded the most babies named Jaquana, while Alabama, North Carolina, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jaquana
The name Jaquana is a modern creation that appears to have emerged in the late 20th century, likely in the United States. It does not have a direct linguistic origin or tie to a specific language or culture. Rather, it seems to have been formed by combining elements from various names, particularly those popular in African American communities.
One possible influence could be the French name Jacques, which itself is derived from the Hebrew name Jacob. The "Ja" prefix in Jaquana may have been inspired by this. The "qua" portion could be a nod to the common name-ending "-qua" found in names like Monique or Dominique. The final "na" syllable is a common element in many modern American names, often used to give a more feminine or melodic sound.
There are no known historical references or records of the name Jaquana prior to the late 20th century. It appears to be a relatively new creation, likely born out of the desire for unique and distinctive names within certain communities.
While the name itself may be relatively new, there are a few notable individuals who have borne it in recent decades. One of the earliest recorded instances is Jaquana Mays, an American track and field athlete who competed in the 1990s and early 2000s. Another Jaquana Mays, unrelated to the athlete, is a gospel singer and songwriter from Louisiana.
In the world of entertainment, Jaquana Rochon is an American actress known for her roles in films like "The Wood" and "Cradle 2 the Grave." Jaquana Rose is a model and reality TV personality who appeared on the show "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta."
Jaquana Paulk is a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for the Indiana Fever and the Detroit Shock in the early 2000s.
While these are some of the more notable individuals with the name Jaquana, it is still a relatively uncommon name, especially outside of certain regions and communities in the United States.
People
Jaquana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaquana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jaquana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaquana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 383 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaquana going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 894,920 US residents.
Is Jaquana a common name?
We classify Jaquana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 399 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaquana most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaquana was 1995, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaquana is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jaquana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 306 people with the name Jaquana, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,088 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jaquana in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jaquana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jaquana leans strongly female. 304 people counted with this name were female (97.1%), compared with 9 male bearers (2.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jaquana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaquana is Black at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and White (1.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jaquana most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jaquana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.1% (291 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jaquana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaquana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaquana in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jaquana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaquana in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jaquana can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Jaquana?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Jaquana at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.